Apparatus for semifluid and fluid evacuation



Dec. 25, 1934. T. F. CALLAHAN 1,985,401 TUS FOR SEMI LUID AND FLUID EVACUATION APPARA 5 Shees-Sheet 1 Filed July 30, 1930 Dec. 25, 1934. Y T. F. CALLAHAN APPARATUS FOR SEMIFLUID AND FLUID EVACUA Filed July so. 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2' fizz/Wain nmoifijizdilaiali 1934' T. F. CALLAHAN I APPARATUS FOR SEMIFLUID AND FLUID EVAGUA TION I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 50. 1930 15 plish any sort of excavation at or near quick-sand in a container or an excavation is no hindrance l Patented Dec. 25, 1934 v if v I UNITED; STATES. PATENT .O B

APPARATUS FOR SEMIFLUID AND FLUID EVACUATION I Timothy F. Callahan, Quincy, Mass. Application July 30, l930,SerialjNo. 471353.

7 4 Claims. (o1. 214-1 This invention relates to improved apparatus and may interfere with a proper operation of for semi-fluid and fiuidevacuation. 'More particvalve or valves. 'ularly it relates to a method and means'for re- The present invention providesimproved means vmoving from a container or excavation any sand adapted for handling quick-sand, and numerous 5 or gravel, or fragmentary or comminuted solid other materials which may be immersed or dis- '5 matter which may be immersed or disseminated seminated in liquid, as W l l d Y I in a fluid. For example, the invention provides, It is .anobject ofthe invention'to provide for among-other things for removal of sludge from evacuation of quick-sand, andvarious kinds of sewage catch'basins; pulp and oak barkfrom fragmentary or comminuted solid matter, with 10 vats or other containers; and has a particular afluid vehicle, by flowing the material, as a semil0 utility for evacuation of quick-sand in construc fluid, into a fluid-tight receptacle, and dischargtion undertakings which may involve excavating ing it, when said receptacle is elevated, through in quick-sand areas. i the same passage by which it entered. A feature Hitherto it has been diiiicult indeed to accomresides in the fact that a large q y of fl areas. The liquid or semi-liquid nature of quickto the work of removing solid matter therefrom, sand causes it to flow into any excavation atbut, rather, the fluid is made to play an important tempted to be dug in the vicinity. It has been a part in effecting the evacuation. Another feature real engineering problem, requiring the attention s d s n the provision for discharge 0 ,and. supervision of experts in that particular D p receptacle y gravity u fl w t e kind of work, to stem the flow of quick-sand, and a short,- large-diameter. passage, thereby ensurto eliminate incident. accumulations of water, ins a a cl n f t passa a d minimizto an extent which will'permit the desired exing wear. A further object i provide means cavation to be made and suitably'sheathed, and. whereby heavy and solidly Packed material to the necessary masonry installed." Ordinarily the be evacuated, preliminarily may be agitated and 25 water must be pumped out of a preliminarily preconverted into a semi-fiuidstate capable-of-:flow-- pared area, and must be maintained at a sufiing into the p receptafile- It is moreover, ciently low level in the excavation to permit the a imp ta feature t means associated with work to proceed. Great expense has been inthe pick-up receptacle can efiectivsly hold volved, and always there is the danger of quicktents against outflow as the receptacle is being 30 and flow to an extent which .afieets th founda,- elevated, and can release said contents at the will tions of buildings, roads, etc., in the vicinity. Of an Operator- I According to the present methods there is a These bj and results mayv be vv3131391111661 continual pumping'out of water until such time with pp a s including a u -t h p as the particular section being worked h b and means for lowering and raising the recepsuitably excavated sheathed and the required tacleinto and out of the container-or excavation masonry inst ll d; n. of t time there is from which material is to be evacuated; Convena continual flow of water and quick-sand into the iently the ceptacle may be suspended; on a excavation fro Surrounding areas; j suitable hoist which may be carried ion a truck 40 In m United st t tt patent N or other vehicle. The receptacle has amouth 40 1,326,321, granted December 30,1919,Ihavedisbottom'locatioh adapted GO-1106601119 mclosed means designed more particularly for bedded in the material as the receptacle is lowsludge removal, but which is capable of use for ered; P l" leads from 3? ipg ifi excavating in quick-sand. vBut the theory upon controlgomt gi p E be gi ga e 45 which my said patented device operated is conmeans Breby I e m ermr 0 e y ducive to wear in the case of quick-sand removal closed or Opened to atmosphere at It involves a Suction 10a din a whereby it may ,beconnected to a source of vacand reqmrfes uum which convenientlymay be a vacuum tank tlvely hlgh alr pressure to empty, f t on the vehicle. Preferably a second-tank, conmaterlal through tube F place of dlscharse taining airunder pressure, is carried on the ve- 50 at the surface. The frictionincident to passage hide; with d t leading into the receptacle of quick-sand through the tube may destroy the and well down toward the latters bottom, with tube after arelatively short term of service. And means for closing id latter conduit and for then again, if the'material be coarse and heavy, opening it when desired to inject air pressure as q d, it may pack nd clog the tube i to contents of the receptacle. w

A second conduit leading from the pressure tank may have a rigid end portion capable of being forced into the matenal to be evacuated to inject air pressure into the material to preliminarily convert it to a semi-fluid state. The receptacle then may be lowered until the mouth thereof becomes embedded in thematerial, the vacuum conduit meanwhile being closed both to atmosphere and to the vacuum tank. If the receptacle is immersed in liquid, the mere opening of the vacuum conduit to atmosphere results in flow of material in its fluid vehicle into the receptacle due to the unbalanced heads of water within and outside the receptacle. A- sufflcient fluid column will cause the receptacle to become substantially filled, and the major portion of the contents will be solid material carried "in'by too little fluid to move material into the receptacleysuction maybe-employedto draw the material in.

The fluid-which enters the receptacle may be employed to seal the mouth in conjunction with the closing of the receptacle to atmosphere. Such a seal is effective to hold the contents While the receptacle is elevated and positioned for discharge. Then, by opening the receptacle to atmosphere, the seal is destroyed and contents can flow out by gravity. Or, if the contents are too solidly packed to flow, a blast of air maybe injected therein through the pressure conduit thereby to agitate the material sufficiently to permit of its falling out of the receptacle by gravity.

For cases having little fluid, such as for sludge removal-from sewerage catch basins, a two way flap'type of valve may serve in place of the Water in providingia seal. In such a case suction may be employed for filling the receptacle, and air pressure, if necessary, may force contents out at theplace of delivery.

It is intended that the patent shall cover, by suitable expression in the appended claims, whatever features of patentable novelty exist in the invention disclosed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of an assembly which may be employed for practicing the invention, for evacuation of various kinds of material, including quicksand and sludge.-

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view of an. assembly which is particularly adapted for use where alarge head of fluid is available for moving the material into the receptacle;

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of an assembly which is particularly adapted for handling sludge and the like;

Figure4 is an elevation, in medial section, of one form of my improved pick-up receptacle;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 only showing a modified form; and

Figure 6 is an elevation, in medial section, of a receptacle particularly adapted for sludge re moval, and having a valve serving the purpose of water for effecting a seal.

In the practice of my invention I prefer to employ a vehicle 10 on which may be rotatably mounted a suitable hoist 12 for suspension of my improved pick-up receptacle 14, by means of a cable or the like 16. In the diagrammatic showing of Figure 1, the vehicle 10 carries also a com pressed air tank 18, and a vacuum tank 20, with suitable motor 22 and generating means24, which latter is adapted both to generate pressure in tank 18 and to create a vacuum in tank 20.

As a preliminary step to the removal of any solid matter, which may have become packed solidly under a body of fluid, I prefer to agitate the material and thus to convert it into a semi-fluid state capable of being flowed with its fluid vehicle into the receptacle 14. For this purpose I provide a pressure conduit 23leading from the tank 18, with suitable control valve 25. .The conduit has at its end a pipe 26 which may be forced down into the material a considerable distance, as seen in Figure 1. Then, by opening valve 25, a blast of air may be driven into the massed material, causing its dispersal in the fluid, whereby it more readily may be moved in the act of evacuation.

For quick-sand removal, or for removal of other solid matter having a considerable column of water or other fluid above it, the fluid, in conjunction with atmospheric pressure is utilized as the motivating force for moving material into my pick-up receptacle. To this end I provide a conduit 28 leading from the interior of the receptacle to a control point, which may be at the vehicle 10, where a valve 30 may be opened or closed to open or to close the receptacle 14 to atmosphere at the will of. the operator. And, preferably, the valve 30 will be an ordinary three Way valve, and the conduit 28 will be continued on to the vacuum tank 20, so that the conduit may serve as a vacuum tube for suction loading of the receptacle under some conditions. Thus, as represented in Figure 1, the valve 30 may be set to close the receptacle to atmosphere, or to open it to atmosphere; and, in still another position, may open the receptacle to suction from the vacuum tank 20.

In Figure 4 the receptacle 14 is shown in detail. It has in its bottoman inlet and discharge pipe 15 which is fairly large in diameter, and which extends a little below the bottom of the receptacle. In the opposite direction it extends into the interior of the receptacle where a hood 17 is ar ranged, in spaced relation, over its mouth, for a purpose later to be described.

In cases where-a large head of fluid is available, as in the excavation of Figure 1, the receptacle 14 may be lowered into the fluid while valve 30 is set to closeits interior to atmosphere, and ordinarily will descend of its own weight suflicient to embed the end of pipe 15 in the material which, preliminarily, may have been agitated as above described; However, if its weight be insuflicient in any case, weights 19 may be added as'needed. Air entrapped in the receptacle ordinarily will prevent water from entering it to any substantial extent, during its descent but, if too much enters under particular conditions, compressed air may be injected through conduit 21, to force the water out before it reaches the material, or to hold back the water during the descent of the receptacle.

Once. the pipe 15 has its end embedded in the material, the receptacle becomes completely sealed. Then, by setting valve 30 to open the interior of receptacle 14 to atmosphere, air exhausts from the receptacle and fluid bearing a heavy load of the material rushes in through pipe 15 until there is a balancing of fluid heads within and outside the receptacle. It is an important characteristic of the described structure and operation that solid material constitutes a major part of the semi-fluid which enters the receptacle 14. This probably is due in part to the preliminary agitation of the material, and in part to the of the receptacle is again closed to atmosphere,

the receptacle may be elevated while atmospheric pressure holds back the contents against droppingout by gravity. However, as a precaution against accidental dropping of contents, I provide for the formation under hood 1'7 of a fluid seal which effectively restrains outflow until the valve 30 is again opened when the receptacle arrives atthe place of delivery, which conveniently may be into a'truck or the like. As soon as the valve 30 opens the receptacle to atmosphere, weight of the contents causes outflow by gravity.

Sometimes solid matter in the receptacle 14 may become so solidly packed that it will not discharge as above described. In such a case it may be agitated by introduction of a blast of air through the conduit 21 which has a pipe extension leading well down toward the bottom of the receptacle. Such an agitation disperses the massed material to an extent whereby it can discharge quickly and completely.

Figure 2 illustrates diagrammatically a case where the water head is inadequate to cause a suflicient charge to enter the receptacle 14. Here suction through conduit 30 would be needed to complete the loading.

In Figure 3 there is diagrammatically represented an assembly employed for removing sludge from a sewage catch basin. Little water ordinarily is available in such cases, and suction must be relied upon entirely for loading the receptacle 14a. Air pressure may be employed to force the contents out of the receptacle. A two-way flap type of valve 29, as seen in Fig. 6, in such case, may serve the purpose of the water seal above described.

The receptacle of Figure 5 operates similar to receptacle 14 but has provision for an annular water seal 31, and has two air pressure pipes 33, 33 for agitation of contents of the receptacle.

All forms of the invention involve the principle of inflow and outflow through a single, short large-diameter passage located at the bottom of the receptacle where gravity can accomplish or assist the discharge of contents. This is in decided contrast to methods involving a pumping of contents through a relatively small conduit for discharge, which conduit is subject to clogging and excessive wear.

The invention can perform effectively many laborious and disagreeable tasks which hitherto have had to be performed inefliciently by manual labor, or unsatisiactorily by devices unsuited for the purpose. Semi-fluids, as herein used, is intended to embrace all mixtures wherein solid matter of any description is associated with a fluid, even though the dispersal or dissemination of the solid matter in the fluid be merely a temporary condition resulting from agitation of the solid matter.

I claim as my invention: j 1. Apparatus for evacuation of solid materials 'wh-ich,'in association with a fluid, can be made to flow, comprising a fluid-tight receptacle having a bottom inlet and discharge opening; a flexible conduit leading out of the receptacle at an upper location; a valve for said conduitwhereby the interior of the receptacle may be openedor closed to atmosphere at will; a hood interiorly of the receptacle and arranged across said opening, in spaced relation thereto and adapted forliquid contents of the receptacle to accumulatethereunder to provide, in conjunction with atmospheric pressure at saidopening, a liquid seal against outflow from the receptacle so long as said valve is closed.

2. Apparatus for evacuation of solid materials which, in associationiwith a fluid, can be made to flow, comprising a hoist; a fluid-tight receptacle, having a bottom inlet and discharge opening, suspended on said hoist; a vacuum tank; a pressure tank; a conduit connecting the vacuum tank with the interior of said receptacle through its top; a valve for said conduit adapted to open or close the interior of the receptacle to atmosphere and, in another position, to said interior to suction from the vacuum tank; and a conduit leading from the pressure tank and having its end positioned for discharge well down toward the bottom of the interior of said receptacle.

3. Apparatus for evacuation of solid materials which, in association with a fluid, can be made to flow, comprising a hoist; a fluid tight receptacle having a bottom'inlet and discharge opening suspended on said hoist; a vacuum tank, a pressure tank; a conduit connecting the vacuum ,tank with the interior of said receptacle through its top; a valve for said conduit adapted to open or close the interior of the receptacle to atmosphere and, in another position, to said interior to suctionfrom the vacuum tank; a conduit leading from the pressure tank and having its. end positioned well down toward the bottom of the interior of said receptacle; a valve for controlling the latter said conduit; a second conduit leading from the pressure tank having a rigid end portion adapted to be forced into material tobe evacuated for agitation of said material by injection thereinto of a blast of air; and a valve for controlling this latter said conduit.

4. In apparatus for evacuation of solid materials which, in association with a fluid, can be made to flow, the combination with a receptacle having a bottom opening for inflow and for outflow of said materials, of a double acting valve for said opening, comprising a closure set across the opening and mounted and adapted to yield in inward direction under press of incoming material, and to yield in outward direction under press of discharging material; the said yielding of the closure in one direction being a swinging motion which may clear said passage.

TIMOTHY F. CALLAHAN. 

